Inquest results in another whitewash
To the editor:
After watching last week's coroner's inquest into the Feb. 12 killing of Deshira Selimaj, it is obvious that a healthy, 23-year-old Henderson policeman was in fear of his life from a 42-year-old woman who sells ice cream. Other cops testified to that, too.
What a courageous bunch of public servants. Officer Luke Morrison, a two-year cop, could have been stabbed in his Kevlar vest, ruining his uniform in the process.
Now that Mr. Morrison has been absolved of any responsibility, I propose that all concerned citizens join me in erecting a cedar post fence in front of the Henderson Police Department. I will provide all materials, including the fencing, nails and paint. And then we will all join in to paint the fence with the color "Henderson whitewash."
Sure, we might be arrested and jailed, but this time the cameras will be rolling -- and justice would be served.
Norman Petz
HENDERSON
Henderson, Iraq
To the editor:
I woke Saturday morning to the shocking news regarding a mother gunned down in front of her children because she posed a threat with a knife. The shooting was ruled justifiable.
But the truly shocking part was that the news was not from Iraq, it was from Henderson.
Patrick Lee
LAS VEGAS
Unfair system
To the editor:
After watching both days of the latest Clark County coroner's inquest, I would like to know how can this form of unfair justice can be allowed to continue in this day and age.
I am a firm advocate of the police officers of all the cities in Clark County. I do not envy any officer of the law, and can only hope and pray that common sense becomes a part of police academy training.
However, using two well-versed assistant district attorneys to throw softball questions at the Henderson police officers and then ask an overabundance of leading questions smacks of a district attorney-police mutual admiration society to me.
This must be changed, and I will begin to lobby for just that. Please use your power of the press to stress the importance of an unbiased inquest system for Clark County.
John R. Isselin
LAS VEGAS
Stop using Tasers
To the editor:
After watching part of the inquest into the shooting of Deshira Selimaj, I think the use of Tasers by police should be suspended until procedures for their use are changed.
Training police that they have five seconds to subdue a person after that person has been hit by a Taser puts people's lives in jeopardy. If a person is holding a weapon, the police should not approach that person unless there is no other choice. Attempting to disarm this woman using a nonlethal method resulted in her death.
I don't want the police putting their lives in danger trying to disarm a person. After a person has been hit by a Taser, they should be told to drop the weapon. If they don't and continue to move in a threatening manner, they have to be shot. The police should not be put in a position where they rush a person still holding a weapon. This shooting seems to have been justified. However, it might not have been necessary, had the Tasers not been used.
Ron Gearhart
LAS VEGAS
What a phony
To the editor:
So now the Hillary Clinton campaign is accusing Sen. Barack Obama of being an "elitist?" This from a woman who (along with her down-to-earth husband) earned $110 million over the past few years and has known little or nothing other than politics for the past 30 years?
Now she is attempting to show her "roots" by setting up photos of herself drinking beer and pounding shots at a local bar in Pennsylvania (Sunday Review-Journal). How low can you go to insult the American voter? I suppose next she'll take a trip to Nellis Air Force Base, sit in an F-15 for 10 minutes and then claim she's a fighter pilot.
J.J. Schrader
HENDERSON
Raises deserved
To the editor:
Regarding your Thursday editorial, "On the chopping block":
The reason state employee pay raises should not be on the chopping block is simple: Some, if not most of us, are doing the jobs of two people, not always in safe conditions, and certainly not ever under circumstances that remain constant. This is because of the vast population growth the Las Vegas Valley has been undergoing for some time now.
Connie Cox
HENDERSON
